Graduate: Guidance

Research examinations

BEFORE THE EXAMINATION

WRITING AND SUBMITTING YOUR THESIS

THE VIVA

OUTCOMES

FINAL DEPOSIT OF THESIS

Submission of examiners’ copies of your thesis

As of 15 September 2025, the RTDS portal has been retired. Research theses should now be submitted for examination via the 'My Research Degrees' tab in Student Self Service. A guide to this process is linked below, and the Research Degrees Team will answer any additional questions you might have, via researchdegrees@admin.ox.ac.uk

The examination copies of all research degree theses must be submitted digitally via the 'My Research Degrees' tab in Student Self Service by 11:59pm on your maximum submission date. Submissions made via any other method will not be accepted. Full guidance on the functionality and instructions on how to submit your thesis via Student Self Service can be found in the Quick Reference Guide for Students.

Please note that your examiners will not be sent a link to download the thesis, until your Application for Appointment of Examiners (GSO.3) form has been approved (see above at ‘Appointment of examiners’), and your examiners have accepted their appointments in response to formal invitations issued by the Research Degrees office.

Presentation of theses and abstracts - style and format

Information on special regulations for specific subject areas, and divisional and faculty boards can be found in the relevant Examination Regulations; you should check the specific requirements for your course of study in the relevant regulations. A set of general advice on the format of the thesis can also be found in the General Regulations Governing Research Degrees, and is also included in the Notes of Guidance for Research Examinations (GSO.20a).

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional (or reckless), or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence (sections 4 and 5).

There are different types of plagiarism and you should familiarise yourself with each of them. You may benefit from taking an online course, which has been developed to provide a useful overview of the issues surrounding plagiarism, and practical ways to avoid it.

If plagiarism is suspected in your thesis, the matter will be referred to the relevant Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). They will thoroughly investigate the claim and may call you for interview. (As part of the investigation, text-matching software such as iThenticate or TurnItIn may be used to scan the thesis, but the thesis will not be saved to any text-matching software databases.) If at this point there is no evidence of a breach of the regulations, no further disciplinary action will be taken, although you may still be required to make changes to your thesis. If it is concluded that a breach of the regulations may have occurred, the DGS will refer the matter to the Proctors’ Office.

Extenuating circumstances

If you have a disability that may affect the writing of your thesis, there are a number of measures that can be put in place to support you. These can be discussed with the Disability Advisory Service and disability advisors within your department/college. These measures might include extensions of time for milestones, assistive technology, use of a proof-reader etc.

By the time you submit your thesis, no further consideration of the disability is appropriate with respect to the written work, and your thesis will be examined under the same academic criteria as those submitted by students without a disability.

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The Viva

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Before the Examination

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